The Opelousas courier., 1887-12-03
sesaE REFORM r o
New Orleans TImes-Democrat.

. 0IlCduh 44u6b-AGUIUcEhG.
we observe in the Picagune OF yesterday a
significant chsnge of tone in discussing the
reform conspiracy. Our esteemed contem-
porary no longer wears the confident air OF
Tuesday, acknowledging the plot and ask
4 reproachfal. argumentative spirit has sue
ceeded to that boastful hilarity which char
acteriZed it's earlier utterances. Thou
canst not say l did it" ia now the answer to
our accusation.
But it is rather late in the day for this
Transformation act. Toomuch has been said
by our valued contemporary, by smaller but
equally earnest reform organs and reform
the Pteavane, in q burst Of CONFIDENCE, ad-
mitted the salient features of Il charge
and emphasized the admission by expressing
its pride in the design and basing roseate
of perfect satisfaction with tho scheme, re-
ferred to it as something quite beyond the
need of justification and fully, worthy OF an
astnte politicians pride. Only q few, days
still further into details. and just 3 trifie
more Indifferent to appearances, proclaimed
the purpose Of the refofmers. in still clearer
terms, and disclosed the methods by which
they proposed to muzzle Democracy's voice
in Louisiana.
Our readers have rot forgotten Mr.. Zach
aries circular, either. As far back as Noy.
10 he sent out, in the name of the Nichols
campaign committee, q letter OF instructions
| to the faithful in East Frliciana, in which,
among other interesting things, he said:
Our advice to you is to leave no stone I'M
turned TO have the details OF your mass meet
| ing arranged in advance
ttAfTange the details IN ddcance.n In other
words, appoint your delegates, decide upon
your majority. draft your resolutions, and
declare your results, before the mass meet
ing assemblies and without any reference to
its character. and then stick to it through
thick and thin afterward." That il what
MIR. Zacharis meant by '~'arranging the de-
tails in advance, ~ for, further along In his
i circular he says:
ave trust that oar friends In East Feiictdnd
tgiI not be caught mapping. or II they are,
that heg acitI not submit TO a deprivation %
their rights as Democrats"
In other words if, after having arranged
those details in advance they should find thai
the mass meeting stupidity refused to follow
out the programme, then they must stand
For Mr.. Zacharie adds, in exhaustion of the
strong necessity of securing East FefIclana'
Nothing would bring such discourage
laent to our cause as the loss OF East Fei1.
parish, and to lose itaat this time in the in.
ception of the Campaign, would discourage
our friends and encourage the enemy great
ly, ipfsmuch'a as tho latter hold out to ths
public that they donot claim it. Yours truly,
tsF. g. ZAoHARIE, for Committee. u
1t ia too late for the PtcGfatlte to bark baci
to the old deviceCf iniu0ed innocence. LII
~inapulsive outburss Of tuesday morning wal
l mncA more cQHllleIQaDte dIHd 1uBe1l4oue.
Not only isft too late-it is idle. Here w
have the plain admissions of the organs ans
the managers of reform that they intend t.
appropriate what they cannot fairly win, ano
to contest when they are sqnarely beaten
Our excellent neighbor, however, Is ms
taken in assuming that we are appalled,. o
alarmed or even disconnected over the dis
covery of the reform plot. We were prepare.
for it after their tactics in the State Contra
COMMITTEE. We were convinced by VIVA
happened in Caddo, Grant. Webster and p
Soto. The PacGDane's admissions, th
Plaaueminea Protectors boasts. Mr.. Zaeha
rie's opportune zeel-an these things Wer
but the embroidery upon the FABRIC. The
sary. Neither should the reformers fall int
the error of snpposing that their earefuli
prepared and tenderly nuftured plan WI
win.